Massage apparatus



Feb. 12, 1957 f: I :11 i

iinited States Patent Ii/IASSAGE APPARATUS Benjamin Hill, Frazer, Pa., assignor to Hiil Laboratories Company, Frazer, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 22, 1953, Seriai No. 381,547

8 Claims. (Cl. 128-33) This invention relates to mechanical means for massaging and exercising the body of a person and more particularly those parts of the body which benefit most from massage.

This invention is an improvement over my prior Patent 2,230,057, issued January 28, 1941. In that patent, means are disclosed for reciprocating a table top so that fixedly mounted rollers protruding through elongated apertures in the table top may engage the back of a person adjacent the spinal column so that as the person reclines, the relative movement of the table top with respect to the rollers causes the rollers to massage his back. Gne of the disadvantages of that device was that the effective pressure of one roller with respect to the other could not be varied as desired according to the needs, and furthermore, the rigid mounting of the rollers does not afiord sufiicient resiliency for a massage. I have found that these deficiencies are present also in other prior art structures;

Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to provide mechanical means for massaging comprising a plurality of rollers resiliently mounted so as to provide a massage of limited vigor and-wherein the possibility of damage to the body is practically eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a massage apparatus of the stated type wherein transversely spaced rollers are disposed so that one of them will exert more pressure on the body than the other roller.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the stated type of convenient form and generally improved functional characteristics.

The invention resides further in certain structural de tails hereinafter described and illustrated in the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the massage apparatus of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical elevational view partly broken away of the massage apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view taken substantially on line 44 of Fig. 3

Fig. 5 is a View in perspective of the L-shaped bracket utilized to support the leg rollers of Figs. 1 and 2.

Reference is now made to the drawing for the details of the massage apparatus, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 wherein reference numeral indicates a suitable base having opposed side Walls 11 and correspondingly sloped end Walls 12. Along the top edges of the side Walls 11 are mounted a plurality of rollers 13 receivable in tracks 14 secured to the underside of the table top or platform 15.

Suitable means comprising an electric motor, speed reduction pulleys and a pitman arm are provided to afford reciprocation of the platform 15. All of these elements are fully disclosed in my prior patent and it is therefore unnecessary to illustrate or describe them in detail.

Patented Feb. 12, 1957 Extending between the side walls 11 and secured thereto by fastening elements 16 are channel members 17 on each of which are mounted two transversely spaced sup ports 18, each of which receives a rack 19 to the upper end of which is secured a hollow rectangular tube or support 22 having a spring 23 mounted in a cavity in the upper end thereof. The upper end of each tube 22 is provided with an enlarged aperture 24 for the reception of one end of a rectangular shaft which normally rests on the top convolution of the spring 23.

As the patient reclines face upwards on the platform and the table top 15 reciprocates, the rollers 25 and 25a gently knead his back, one on each side of the spine. Should he desire more pressure on one side, he may lean to one side to effect this result. The shaft 20 of the rollers 25 and 25a is permitted to cant, in accordance with the conformation of the back of the user as he leans, because of the resilient support provided by the springs 23. A spring collar 21 is provided to maintain the rollers in predetermined spaced relation.

Adjustment of the height of the rollers is afiorded by means of pinions 33 which are mounted in spaced relation on shaft 34, mounted in bearing plates 35 rigidly secured to each side wall 11 by means of fastening elements as. A handle 37 is provided to rotate the pinions 33 to raise or lower the racks as desired. Each pair of rollers is retained in an elevated position by means of a dog 38 mounted on a shaft 39 which is received in an aperture in one of the side walls 11 and is selectively rotated by the handle 42 to either retain the racks in place or permit them to drop as desired.

Massage of the legs and thighs is afforded by means of the rollers 23, mounted in spaced relation on the shaft 44 which is supported above the surface of the platform 15 by the uprights 45, the lower ends of which are receivable in an L-shaped bracket 46. This bracket has an aperture 47 corresponding to the conformation of the uprights 45 to receive the latter and a leg portion 48 received in channel brackets 49, which are secured to the top of the side Walls 11'. It will be noted that an additional pair of channel brackets is provided to vary effect of the rollers 43 as desired.

It will be apparent that a massage apparatus is provided which affords a knee-action effect in that the axis of rotation of the rollers 25 and 25a may be tilted to pro duce any desired variation of massage effect. The possibility of injury to a person having a delicate spinal structure or displaced vertebrae is practically eliminated.

I claim:

1. A massage apparatus comprising a base, a bodysupporting platform mounted on said base for reciprocatory movement thereon, a plurality of back engaging rollers having portions extending through an aperture through said platform, means mounting said rollers for resiliently-resisted vertical movement, means to adjust the position of said mounting means vertically, and rollers spaced longitudinally from said first-mentioned rollers and mounted on said base in position to massage the legs or thighs of a person reclining on said platform upon movement thereof.

2. A massage apparatus comprising a base, a body supporting platform mounted on said base for reciproca-- tory movement thereon, a plurality of back engaging. rollers having portions extending through an aperture through said platform, said rollers being mounted on acommon support, said support being mounted to tilt from the horizontal as desired, means vertically to adjust the position of said roller support, and rollers spaced longitudinally from said first-mentioned rollers and mounted on said base in position to massage the legs or thighs of a person reclining on said platform upon movement thereof.

3. A massage apparatus comprising a base, a bodysupporting platform mounted on said base for reciprocatory movement thereon, at least two longitudinally spaced pairs of back engaging rollers having portions extending through an aperturethrough said platform, the rollers of one'pair being mounted on a common support and the rollers of the other pair being rnounted on another common support, said supports being mounted to tilt independently of each other from the horizontal as desired, means vertically to adjust the positions of said roller supports, androllers spaced longitudinally from said first-mentioned rollers and mounted on said base in position to massage the legs or thighs of a person reclining on said platform upon movement thereof.

4. A massage apparatus comprising a base, a bodysupporting platform mounted on said base for reciprocatory movement thereon, a'plurality of pairs of longitudinally aligned rollers resiliently mounted on said base and having portions of their peripheries extending through an elongated aperture in said platform, means vertically to adjust the position of the rollers, and rollers spaced longitudinally from said first-mentioned rollers and mounted on said base in position to massage the legs or thighs of a person reclining on said platform upon movement thereof.

5. A massage apparatus comprising a base, a bodysupporting platform mounted on said base for reciprocatory movement thereon, a plurality of longitudinally aligned pairs of rollers mounted on said base, each roller a supporting platform mounted on said base for reciprocatory movement thereon, a plurality of longitudinally aligned pairs of rollers resiliently mounted on said base, each roller of each pair being mounted for rotation in fixed coaxial relationship with the other roller of said pair, means mounting said pairs of rollers for resilient axial tilting movement through an elongated aperture in said platform, means vertically to adjust the position of said mounting means, means selectively to retain said mounting means at any desired elevation, and rollers spaced longitudinally from said first-mentioned rollers and mounted on said base in position to massage the legs and thighs of a person reclining on said platform upon movement thereof. 7

7. A massage apparatus comprising a base, a bodysupporting platform mounted on said base for reciprocatory movement thereon, pairs of transversely spaced racks mounted in said base, means selectively to raise or lower said racks as desired, a pair of tubes mounted on each pair of racks, a spring disposed within each of said tubes, each of said tubes provided with a longitudinally extending slot for the reception of the ends of the respective shafts of pairs of rollers With their peripheries extending through an elongated aperture in said platform, means vertically to adjust the positions of said rollers, means selectively to retain said rollers at any desired elevation, and rollers spaced longitudinally from said first-mentioned'rollers and mounted on said base in position to massage the legs or thighs of a person reclining on said platform upon movement thereof.

8. A massage apparatus comprising a base, a bodysupporting platform mounted on said base for reciprocatory movement thereon, a plurality of back engaging rollers having portions extending through an aperture through said platform, means mounting said rollers for resiliently-resisted vertical movement, and means to adjust the position of said mounting means vertically.

7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,175,614 Redfield Oct. 10, 1939 2,193,249 Flanders Mar. 12, 1940 2,204,624 Rupp June 18, 1940 2,230,057 Hill Jan. 28, 1941 2,534,587 Fisher et al Dec. 19, 1950 2,640,480 Hill June 2, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 272,103 Switzerland Feb. 16, 1951 

